The Roommate

Starred review from July 6, 2020
Danan debuts with this wildly original and sexy romance about an uptight East Coast socialite and the stranger she inadvertently shacks up with. When Clara Wheaton’s longtime crush invites her to leave her Manhattan apartment and move in to his spare room in Los Angeles, she impulsively agrees. But then his band heads off on tour and he rents out his own room as well—to porn star Josh Darling. Clara, who’s always been squeamish about porn and has never had a satisfying sexual relationship, googles Josh, and, naturally, Josh walks in on her watching one of his films. He offers to make up for all the boyfriends who’ve left her cold by demonstrating his talents in person. Their no-strings-attached encounter simultaneously accelerates and complicates their budding friendship and also inspires a new business venture, with Clara financing and Josh producing videos that fall “somewhere between porn and sex-ed” designed to teach women’s partners how to better please them in bed. Meanwhile, Josh’s nefarious former employer, Black Hat Studios, works to undermine them. Danan makes this novel premise work with a charming, believable heroine; an offbeat hero with a heart of gold; and snappy, laugh-out-loud prose. Romance fans will especially appreciate that the steamy erotic scenes are used to further character development, rather than just for cheap thrills. This delectable rom-com is both red-hot and fiercely feminist. Agent: Jessica Watterson, Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.

August 1, 2020
Socialite Clara moved from New York to Los Angeles, hoping to become more than a longtime best friend to Everett. Instead, he leaves her with a stranger as a roommate, and heads off on tour with his band. Clara enjoys talking with Josh, even as he teases her about her laminated lists. He encourages her to visit the black sheep of her family, her Aunt Jill, who gives her a job, and tells her that her new roommate is a huge porn star, Josh Darling. Josh is stuck in a bad contract with a big porn company, but Clara comes up with an idea for another business opportunity for him: Josh could help women find pleasure through website demonstrations. He tries this on Clara, but their romantic relationship is a slow burn. Debut romance writer Danan's fun characters each gain the courage to move out from others' wrong and damaging expectations in a very appealing, unique forced-proximity love story. With humor and style reminiscent of Christie Craig or Susan Elizabeth Phillips, newcomer Danan is definitely an author to keep tabs on.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

Starred review from August 1, 2020
A woman from a staid Connecticut society family moves to LA and falls in love with her roommate. Clara Wheaton grew up in a household beset by scandal, and it turned her into a creature of habit and duty. As a young girl, Clara vowed to live quietly and never cause anxiety for her long-suffering mother. Now she's 27 with a Ph.D. in art history and no idea what to do with it, so she moves to LA in a last-ditch attempt to win over the friend she's had a crush on since they were teenagers. But when she arrives in California, her friend reveals he will be touring with his band for the summer, leaving Clara with an unexpected roommate, Josh Darling. Feeling too humiliated to return home, she decides to spend the summer in LA after being offered a temporary job at her aunt's PR firm. Josh is a porn star, and he firmly corrects Clara's misconceptions--and those of readers--about the adult entertainment industry. Clara is worried that her association with Josh will cause a scandal, but she loves the freedom of her new life too much to worry. They develop a close friendship but agree to ignore the sizzling attraction between them. Clara is outraged when she discovers that the powerful porn company Josh works for, Black Hat, is trying to blackmail him into a new contract. They decide to strike back at the company by creating a website with unabashedly sex-positive video tutorials that center women's pleasure. Clara and Josh are likable characters trying to make the world a better place. Danan's debut is a staunch rejection of societal shame about sex and pleasure--one that will speak to romance readers young and old. A deliciously fresh romance with strong characters and feminist themes.

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